This comes up from time to time over the years. It's not the first time we've had this discussion, and I see a lot of players (and even a GM or two) get confused by it. I'm not really willing to discuss this in great depth OOCly. Though I will share some of what should be considered common-knowledge and is acceptable for a general release without having to pry it out of a guild NPC ICly.

Fact: Tse Gaiyan as a whole is not, nor has it ever been, focused on druidry.

Fact: Tse Gaiyan is a large organization with an old history going back -at least- several hundred years with chapterhouses spread all over Arad. The quarantine zone is certainly a "hot" area, but it should not be considered the entirety of Tse Gaiyan. Both the resen and the Tse Gaiyan exist outside of the quarantine and have for quite some time.

Fact: Tse Gaiyan was founded by a group of Fasa warriors, who later assimilated some Viali into their ranks to form the Utasa. I've always viewed the organization as a whole more akin to the Wyrvardn and to a lesser extent the Templar, but with a LOT more freedom and a radical movement against the resen.

Fact: Tse Gaiyan's primary goal has always been as an anti-resen force. They will use -any- means necessary to this end, including what some would consider underhanded or uncouth. Such as spying, sabotage, or even manipulating druidry as a tool rather than a way of life. This is what frequently gets them a bad reputation with others.

Observation: The original creator of this guild, Rithiel, never really put that much emphasis on druidry and spirituality. We did go through a phase of "Ugh, all those loggers causing distress and no one doing anything about it!" frustrations, but druidry and spirituality was never a focus under Rithiel's tenure as Tse Gaiyan guru and creator.

Observation: Vinz is an awesome dude, and was a great and productive GM, and someone I still consider a good friend of mine (Who I really need to play more video games with!). He was really, really, into all that spirituality and druidry stuff, and it showed during his guruship of Tse Gaiyan. I'm not saying it was wrong. However, at some point, we were having discussions and enlightened him to the above facts, after which he held a big Skype meeting with a bunch of the then-active Tse Gaiyan members and told them, "Listen guys, we need to go back to focusing on our anti-resen activity. Druidry is a tool we use, not the focus.".

A lot of people were really confused by this, after what seemed like a sudden shift towards "druid" and then a sudden shift back away from it and then being told they're a soldier of a somewhat militaristic organization who's goal is to purge the resen from the land. Some people complained. Some people quit. Some people chose to retcon their character's story. Some people refused to accept the change and just complained ICly that things are "different" even though they're really "returning to the way they should have always been."

Fact: It's a really messy situation when a guruship changes from one GM, to another, and then yet another. (Just ask anyone who has regularly spoken with Shar over the last 3 years) I'm now the third person involved here. And while I actually knew Rithiel while she was a SGM, the majority of Tse Gaiyan history, lore, and secrets are still lost with her. We're trying to pick up the pieces here, and doing the best we can. Some people may be a bit upset at the "flip-flop" and such, but really when it comes down to it, I'm just trying to stick as close to canon as I can here.

In closing: You're free to be a spiritual character and hold druidry dear to you, no one is telling you otherwise. One of the lovely things about the Tse Gaiyan is how they are sworn to protect freedom and personal choice. If your personal choice is that of a druidic lifestyle, all the more power to you. However, when the call to arms is made, a member of Tse Gaiyan is first and foremost a soldier in the war against the resen infestation. The only people who -should- ever be "removed" from the guild are:

All members are expected to answer the call when Tse Gaiyan chooses to act as an Organization. This is generally done when there is an obvious resen threat, or after long deliberation. If they don't, they may be asked to leave. In general, the only other actions that can constitute being kicked out are not taking responsibility for actions or deliberately sabotaging Tse Gaiyan actions. Members are always considered under the command of the Praetor of their Chapterhouse, and only the Praetor can make decisions about removal from the organization.

[GMCHAT Uyoku]: Octum is when the octumbunny comes around and lays pumpkins everywhere right?[GMCHAT Rias]: Dimmes says "oh hai :) u need healz? ill get u dont worry thaum lasers pew pew pew lol"[CHAT - GameMaster Rias would totally nuke Rooks]: Here's how elemancy works: The freeblegreeble and the zippoflasm have to be combined with the correct ration of himbleplimp, then you add the gargenheimer and adjust the froopulon for the pattern you want, apply some tarratarrtarr, yibble the wantaban, and let 'er rip!

I have been so bad about this, I've said "The Tse Gaiyan" probably 100 times in the past week, including a dozen or so times in the above post, which I've since edited.

[GMCHAT Uyoku]: Octum is when the octumbunny comes around and lays pumpkins everywhere right?[GMCHAT Rias]: Dimmes says "oh hai :) u need healz? ill get u dont worry thaum lasers pew pew pew lol"[CHAT - GameMaster Rias would totally nuke Rooks]: Here's how elemancy works: The freeblegreeble and the zippoflasm have to be combined with the correct ration of himbleplimp, then you add the gargenheimer and adjust the froopulon for the pattern you want, apply some tarratarrtarr, yibble the wantaban, and let 'er rip!

Yes, I won't respond to stuff like that OOCly, though I'm always willing to listen. This really isn't an issue for the BBS though.

[GMCHAT Uyoku]: Octum is when the octumbunny comes around and lays pumpkins everywhere right?[GMCHAT Rias]: Dimmes says "oh hai :) u need healz? ill get u dont worry thaum lasers pew pew pew lol"[CHAT - GameMaster Rias would totally nuke Rooks]: Here's how elemancy works: The freeblegreeble and the zippoflasm have to be combined with the correct ration of himbleplimp, then you add the gargenheimer and adjust the froopulon for the pattern you want, apply some tarratarrtarr, yibble the wantaban, and let 'er rip!

Acarin wrote:EDIT: wait... is there a "the" in front of Udemi? or Utasa?

Can't tell if serious or just poking fun at the crazy amount of concern we have for the little details. But, yes, the "the" is appropriate.

"Tse Gaiyan" is Fasa language. I THINK the literal translation to common would be "the Guardians". The "Tse" part is what implies "the" and also makes Guardian plural. I'll talk to Rithiel about it when I get a chance. But if you just say "Gaiyan" by itself, then a lot is lost without context. "Guardian? What guardian?" Which is why I kinda prefer always referring to the organization by at least "Tse Gaiyan" rather than just "Gaiyan". Though if you want to be super super proper, you could just refer to them as "Tse Gaiyan lit Nuam", but that's such a pain to type!

[GMCHAT Uyoku]: Octum is when the octumbunny comes around and lays pumpkins everywhere right?[GMCHAT Rias]: Dimmes says "oh hai :) u need healz? ill get u dont worry thaum lasers pew pew pew lol"[CHAT - GameMaster Rias would totally nuke Rooks]: Here's how elemancy works: The freeblegreeble and the zippoflasm have to be combined with the correct ration of himbleplimp, then you add the gargenheimer and adjust the froopulon for the pattern you want, apply some tarratarrtarr, yibble the wantaban, and let 'er rip!

I think that's my favorite part of the Fasa, they actually have a small selection of words available on the wiki. Yes, that's right, if you wanted to know what "Tse Gaiyan" meant, you could have checked the Fasa page on the wiki and learned at any time, and it is indeed "The Guardians". I kinda wish more races had small bits of their language translated similarly, it makes things a bit more fun to have your character throw in a native word or two while speaking Common.

My only beef with having "actual words" languages is that it can form those Elite Cliques, where they actually use the words as much as possible in-game, and then sneer at people who "should" know them but haven't dedicated the time to memorizing another language OOCly. Yay for the language mechanics, right?

Fayne wrote:I think that's my favorite part of the Fasa, they actually have a small selection of words available on the wiki. Yes, that's right, if you wanted to know what "Tse Gaiyan" meant, you could have checked the Fasa page on the wiki and learned at any time, and it is indeed "The Guardians". I kinda wish more races had small bits of their language translated similarly, it makes things a bit more fun to have your character throw in a native word or two while speaking Common.

Faewyr have a few things, speckled about. Some of it has to be inferred though.

“There is always a choice." "You mean I could choose certain death?" "A choice nevertheless, or perhaps an alternative. You see I believe in freedom. Not many people do, although they will of course protest otherwise. And no practical definition of freedom would be complete without the freedom to take the consequences. Indeed, it is the freedom upon which all the others are based.”

Acarin wrote:So... just to be clear, when I want a guild to condescend due to their shoeless granola bar eating ways and idle naturalist threats, it would no longer be the Udemi?!?

blindndangerous wrote:Glad that you aren't going to ditch druidry completely for the udemi, because I probably would completely quit that character if you had. Not after all the work that I put into that.

You're perfectly fine being nature loving, tree hugging, barefoot, gronola eating druidic themed character. What you do in your free time is entirely up to you. It just really shouldn't be considered part of the guild.

It's when a character refuse to aid Tse Gaiyan mission, turn pacifist, or otherwise subvert or sabotage Tse Gaiyan goals that's a problem. And even if your character DOES want to sympathize with the resen, turn pacifist, or subvert or sabotage Tse Gaiyan goals... that's fine too. We try not to tell people how to play here. BUT, if you chose to play that way, it's going to come with harsh IC consequences if/when Tse Gaiyan leadership finds out.

[GMCHAT Uyoku]: Octum is when the octumbunny comes around and lays pumpkins everywhere right?[GMCHAT Rias]: Dimmes says "oh hai :) u need healz? ill get u dont worry thaum lasers pew pew pew lol"[CHAT - GameMaster Rias would totally nuke Rooks]: Here's how elemancy works: The freeblegreeble and the zippoflasm have to be combined with the correct ration of himbleplimp, then you add the gargenheimer and adjust the froopulon for the pattern you want, apply some tarratarrtarr, yibble the wantaban, and let 'er rip!

I don't think there was any consideration of Udemi dropping druidry. It's one of their unique, powerful, and defining tools. It just isn't the organization's primary focus, which some people seemed to assume. People were joining Udemi to be druids instead of to fight the resen, which was a problem.

Jirato wrote: It's when a character refuse to aid Tse Gaiyan mission, turn pacifist, or otherwise subvert or sabotage Tse Gaiyan goals that's a problem. And even if your character DOES want to sympathize with the resen, turn pacifist, or subvert or sabotage Tse Gaiyan goals... that's fine too. We try not to tell people how to play here. BUT, if you chose to play that way, it's going to come with harsh IC consequences if/when Tse Gaiyan leadership finds out.

To reiterate a quote from a character,

"We're Watching."

And thanks for this J. It helps formulate what I have already viewed and believed about this Organization. And some unknown points that I didn't know about before. Thank You!